Determination of the Elastic Constants of Optical Glasses by an Ultrasonic Method

Abstract

The values of the elastic constants of twelve samples of optical glass commercially produced in the United States and a sample of fused silica were calculated from the results of measurements made on these samples. The method used was a combination of the ultrasonic method developed by Schaefer-Bergmann with that of Hiedemann. The accuracies of the experimentally determined values of the longitudinal and shear wave velocities were 0.13% and 0.25%, respectively, while the accuracies in determining the elastic constants were 0.5% for the shear modulus, Lame's modulus, and the bulk modulus, 0.7% for Poisson's ratio, and 0.8% for Young's modulus. The values of the surface tensions of the samples were calculated using the results of the measurements and Auerbach's equation.